Cree and Musco Team Up to Transform Lighting of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

Cree and Musco Team Up to Transform Lighting of San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge
Custom LED Lights Illuminate the East Span, Delivering Energy Savings and
Exceptional Experience
Business Wire
DURHAM, N.C. & OSKALOOSA, Iowa -- June 19, 2014
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently completed its
LED lighting overhaul to the East Span of the iconic San Francisco – Oakland
Bay Bridge. After three years of testing and designing custom fixtures, Musco
Lighting provided an energy-efficient LED lighting solution featuring Cree®
(Nasdaq: CREE) XLamp® XM-L LEDs to illuminate the picturesque suspension tower
and bridge deck. In total, the bridge now employs nearly 1,600 custom-built
LED light fixtures leveraging more than 51,500 high-performance LEDs, lighting
the entire East Span at an estimated energy savings of 50 percent and lifetime
of 15 years — more than seven times longer than previously deployed lighting
technologies.
“We wanted the East Span of the Bay Bridge to not only be aesthetically
pleasing, but also cost-effective and functional for travelers,” said Andrew
Fremier, deputy executive director at Bay Area Toll Authority. “The new LED
lighting solution by Musco using Cree’s LED technology truly improves the way
residents and visitors experience the Bay Bridge, providing crisp, brilliant
light for all who cross it, while delivering energy efficiency and payback for
years.”
Designed to withstand the greatest of earthquakes, while still providing a
one-of-a-kind experience for travelers, the new bridge required long-lasting,
efficient and user-friendly lighting for the new 2,047-foot East Span. After
deeming a metal halide light source as an unsuitable solution for this
application, Musco drew on its experience as an innovative leader in lighting
solutions to deliver uniform light with glare control using compact, custom
designed fixtures, pleasing both bridge architects and engineers. Cree’s XM-L
LED light source provided the unique combination of high efficacy in a compact
footprint that enabled Musco to reduce fixture size by reducing the number of
LEDs and optics in the system.
“As LEDs evolved and continued to become more efficient, we knew the
technology would allow us to develop a light fixture that could meet the
bridge’s meticulous design requirements with no compromises,” said Jeff
Rogers, vice president of developmental sales, Musco Lighting. “Cree delivered
the performance, reliability and design flexibility for us to create a custom
designed solution. Once we demonstrated our custom solution using Cree’s XM-L
LEDs, Caltrans and their design partners believed in our vision.”
In addition to the roadway and suspension cables, the East Span now features
custom, optically directed Musco LED light fixtures along the bridge deck,
bike and pedestrian paths, tunnel entrance and self-anchored suspension tower.
As a result, Bay Bridge travelers benefit from a uniform and balanced bright
light, delivered using precise optics that guide the light exactly where it is
needed to help eliminate light pollution and glare. Boasting a long-term
warranty, the LED fixtures also help improve the driver experience by
eliminating the need for frequent maintenance to replace or repair lights.
“We’re proud to work with companies like Musco that have a reputation for
delivering high-quality LED lighting systems. Through the pursuit of an
inspired lighting design and its confidence in Cree, Musco was able to create
a lighting solution for this unique challenge,” said Paul Thieken, director of
marketing, LED Components, Cree. “This process substantiates our commitment to
relentless innovation and proves that pushing the boundaries for LED light
output and efficacy can accelerate our customers’ ability to develop
cost-effective, high-output LED lighting products.”
About Musco Lighting
For nearly 40 years, Musco Lighting has specialized in the design and
manufacture of sports and large area lighting around the world. Throughout its
history, Musco has pioneered dramatic improvements in energy efficiency and
affordable ways to control spill light and glare. Permanent and temporary
lighting services range from neighborhood Little League® fields to Olympic
Games. Our team is committed to providing lighting solutions and services you
can rely on today and for the next generation.
For more information on Musco’s innovative lighting solutions, visit
www.musco.com.
About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting
traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of
energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading
innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for
power and radio frequency (RF) applications.
Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED
chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching
devices and RF devices. Cree® ^ products are driving improvements in
applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and
signals, power suppliers and solar inverters.
Please refer to www.cree.com for additional product and company information.
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and
uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a
number of factors, including the risk that actual savings and lifetimes will
vary from expectations;;and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the
year ended June 30, 2013, and subsequent filings.
Cree^® and XLamp® are registered trademarks of Cree, Inc.
Contact:
Cree, Inc.
Lauren Taber, Corporate Communications, 919-407-4910
media@cree.com
or
Musco Lighting
Jason Van Wyk, 641-673-0411